Google is planning to acquire Panoramio

Frequently asked questions

A. Panoramio is a website that enables digital photographers to geolocate, store and organize their photographs–and to view those photographs in Google Earth and Google Maps.

Q. Why is Google planning to acquire Panoramio?

A. The acquisition of Panoramio will incorporate that website, its underlying technology, its content, developers, and user community into the Google Geo product mix. Panoramio will add interesting, useful content to Google products and will bolster Google’s engineering and technical resources.

Q. What are the terms of the acquisition? How much did Google pay?

A. The terms of the acquisition are confidential. The deal is pending.

Q. Will Google assume full operational control of Panoramio?

A. We are excited to have the Panoramio team join the Google team. The Panoramio site will remain operational as we work toward integrating this great user-generated content into Google’s mapping technologies.

Q. Why did Panoramio decide to sell to Google?

A. Panoramio was a great fit with Google’s technology, team and culture. Panoramio has been working with Google to incorporate Panoramio photos into Google Earth for some time. Although the integration is already in place and functioning, we believed a deeper relationship would add value to the Panoramio experience for our users.

Q. How will Panoramio be integrated into Google?

A. It’s too early to say exactly how Panoramio’s technology will be integrated into Google, but our team will work to improve the experience of end users. For now, Google Earth users will continue to see Panoramio as a default layer in Google Earth.

Q. Does the acquisition mean any change for Panoramio’s users?

A. There will be no immediate changes. While we will continue to improve the user experience, accounts, passwords, photos and features will remain the same for the time being.

Q. What if I don’t want to pass my photos and user information to Google?

A. Panoramio promised in its Terms of Use that users would be given a chance to opt-out of the transfer of their personal information if Panoramio were acquired. If you take no action, the rights to your data will transfer, unmodified, from Panoramio to Google upon close of the acquisition. Choosing to opt out will terminate your user agreement with Panoramio, trigger the removal of your photos from the Panoramio database, and prevent the transfer of data rights to Google. For more information about Google’s privacy practices, click here. If you’d like to opt out, click here.